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Thursday, February 11, 2016

Christmas 2015: Christmas Over To New Year Part 2

My copy and paste disclaimer warning as usual:

IMAGE HEAVY
Loooooooong picture-ful post. Go get your drinks and popcorn while waiting for the images to load. You could even savour your main dish in front of your computer. Those viewing this on your smartphones and other hand held devices, I suggest you skip reading this post till you get home or you might risk jamming your device and cursing at my blog in public. I know my turtle friend did that once minus the cursing in public. =P


~*The One On Christmas Eve*~


Christmas eve was spent with my department at one of our colleague's place. We really love inviting ourselves to any colleague's new home to visit new-born babies, wanting to gain home decor ideas and plain kaypoh-ness.




We spent the bulk of our time savouring local takeaway breakfast delights from JS's neighbourhood.




Everyone loved the house tour conducted by JS, our host for the day.




Anyone who needed cool air-condition comfort would adjourn to this room which became a makeshift playroom for the kids.




We ended the Christmas party with a gift exchange that involved guessing, snatching or keeping. Everyone got gifts including the kids who were really thrilled by their Kinder Surprise. Thank you host JS for opening your lovely home to us and Kat for being an awesome party planner!




I got a really practical gag gift for the gift exchange. Practical gag gift? What an oxymoron but yeah, I got Poo-Pourri for 2 separate gift exchange last Christmas. Friends who have used Poo-Pourri or heard of it raved about the product so much that I'm almost impatient to buy it for my new home. I love all the scatological humour in this product. Check out the poem which I copied from the website and view the hilarious YouTube video here.




I added a fluffy pink dust cloth and a Totoro desk calendar, and put them all in a stationery holder. Remember my catalogue which I took pages from for gift wrapping? I chose a radical looking page from the catalogue and there you go. Who could guess what was inside? *evil laughter* Hope the recipient like the gift as much as the rest of the world who likes Poo-Pourri.




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~*The One On Christmas Day*~


On Christmas day, the hubz and I had steak at Bistecca and watched our very first Gold Class movie at Suntec City. I don't know if Singaporeans are getting more affluent or are more willing to spend on movie experience or have lots of Gold Class movie vouchers but I do know of many people around me, kids too, who have already watched Gold Class (and not just once). *rolls eyes*




We did some last minute Christmas shopping before our dinner and got so hungry that we popped by Serenity Spanish Bar and Restaurant for some tapas. While I was editing these food pictures, I told kh that he should be glad that I don't order food according to how instagram worthy they are. So anyway, all these brown dishes are grilled Spanish octopus, sautéed mixed mushrooms and grilled beef with foie gras. I had no idea why the hubz ordered beef when we were going to have steak for dinner after that.




For the few days prior to our Bistecca dinner, kh kept talking about how he craved steak cooked in classic Florentine style and so Bistecca we would go. I was already in love with the design of their website. Reminds me a little of Mark Ryden's work without the morbidity.




While waiting for our food, Kh had nothing better to do than to insist that he looks like Andy Lau and attempted to find a picture of Andy to imitate. *cough cough*




Bread served with Chicken Liver Pâté and Aged Balsamic.
We always love to waste stomach space on bread. You could tell a lot about a restaurant just from the bread they serve.  I've always loved eating bread with olive oil and balsamic vinegar and that was the first time I had bread with chicken liver pate. Yummilicious!




Cheers!




Ostriche -- Freshly shucked Pacific oyster with mignonette. Such a refreshing briny taste!




I usually cannot eat a lot of oyster due to the generally rich metallic taste but these oysters were really light!




The various sauces to go with the steak.




Traditional Tuscan Sharing Steak for two
Bistecca’s exclusive Signature Wagyu-Holstein beef, thick cut in the traditional manner. Prepared in classic Tuscan style over a high temperature wood-fired grill to produce a traditional charred crust steak. Finished simply with extra-virgin olive oil and salt.




If you name your restaurant after a dish, you had better serve a damn good dish. I wasn't blown away by the steak but Kh sure loved the steak and thought that I had weird taste.




We could not get indoor seating. You can't tell from this photo that I've got tonnes of mosquito bites and was suffering from mild vertigo from the bright spotlight shining on our table.




House classic tiramisu served with coffee custard.




Nothing... just chilling with my empty wine glass and blatantly advertising for Bistecca.




The stairs behind our table provided a decent backdrop for OOTD shots.




Kh's OOTD. Yeah, he should have worn darker brown shoes but he didn't have a replacement since his last pair wore out.




After a while, he decided he should dictate his own fashion and folded his pants up so that his shoes did not look like they blend in with his pants as one.




My first and only bauble reflection shot with the hubz for as long as we've been together.




What better movie to experience Gold Class but Star Wars: The Force Awakens? Both hubz and I are not fans of Star Wars but it was really the best movie to experience Gold Class.




I have never watched a single episode of Star Wars but this movie made me read up more on the different episodes and linkages, and also enticed me to watch the other episodes.




Reclining and cozying up in our seats.




Black and gold from head to toe.






We ordered a Root Beer float and Coke float. After that kh felt like some cheese so we ordered the cheese platter too. It was a little difficult to eat in the dark but the cheese was manageable. I cannot imagine eating main courses in the dark theatre.




It was a black, gold and purple theme OOTD.




Kh would be thrilled whenever I pull out my Chanel Classic Flap from my wardrobe to use. I bought it before the price hike a few years back, used it twice and then into the box it went. My friends often ask me why I don't use it more often. The Chanel Classic Flap had been my dream bag since I was schooling. I did not even know it was a designer bag then. I liked it for the quilted look, the black and gold chain and the double c lock. When I had enough money to buy it, I was simply satisfied with being able to own one at long last. I soon realise that this bag isn't practical for my weekend usage as I could not really pack all my usual stuff into it.




So anyway, I digress. Fashion bloggers have OOTD detail shots listing down their apparels... but I'm no fashion blogger and I'm too lazy to list them down.




Also, many beauty bloggers have FOTD listing all the make up products they used. I'm no beauty blogger and my complexion looks flawless here because of filters from 美图秀秀 (mei tu xiu xiu beauty app). So now you know I'm a fake and lazy blogger.




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~*The One With My Other Family*~


Cyn and her kids are reunited as a family when Papa P was back in Singapore for Christmas. How I missed my godkids! For all the times I met up with Cyn, the kids weren't around. I haven't seen them for almost a year since Chinese New Year 2015.




We met up for dinner at The Tuckshop which is a rather charming place with a casual and relaxed environment. Just the perfect set up for gathering with friends.


[Image Credit: greatnewplaces.com]


Bimbotic Cyn hurriedly rubbed the Kitty's tummy once she got her gift.
Jase posed with his magic tricks with a smile though he really preferred Mia's owl blankie.
Mia was totally amused by the hand warmer portion of the owl.




Cyn's gift to me was wrapped so simply and beautifully...




... whereas mine looked like crap. I'm really never good at wrapping and you would laugh when you saw how I wrapped Mia's owl blankie.




Cheeky looking gal!




Monkey faces.




Remember the eye candy hair brush from my previous post? It was put to good use immediately after opening. Mia's hair was totally tangled from a whole day of water adventure and good big brother Jase decided he would help detangle her hair. He looked just like a professional stylist in this collage!




Once again when I do not have photos of the menu and cannot find the menu online, I would forget what we ordered.

Some cheesy thingy which is most likely quesadillas. Yummy!




Beef and mushroom pasta was yummy but spicy! Portion was quite small though.




This tasted like a very blah version of chicken satay.




I never really liked pork slider burger but these were pretty good.




LOL




Mia has an endearing smile that simply melts people's hearts.




Even though I've not seen Mia for so long, she readily stuck to me and kept hugging me. Even as she played Tag with Jase and hugged him, she would run towards me to hug my legs and hips. I asked Cyn if she usually behaves like that to all people and Cyn shook her head. Awww...

Watch a short 15 sec instagram video here of Mia playing Tag.




Jase is growing so fast. Very soon he would be taller than me and he wouldn't hug me any more! Boo hoo hoo!




Cheeky monkeys.




Back at home, we were trying so hard to take a group photo with the phone on self timer mode. Paddy, Cyn, Jase and I were eagerly putting on the props and readying ourselves on the sofa but Mia loved walking to the phone to look at herself in the screen a lot more than to sit with us. We always had to drag her back to the scene and place a Christmas prop on her.




After many many shots...




What went on behind the scene of the wacky Christmas props photo..



We ended the night by playing Jenga. I love how Cyn played Jenga like a smooth criminal.




I will miss all of you and I dread the day you all would be leaving Singapore. T_T




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~*The One On The Last Work Day of 2015*~


We had a mini department lunch at Watami Singapore with whoever was left in the office on the last work day of 2015.




It was sort of a post Christmas, pre new year lunch.








After lunch, a few of us went to sing K. It was so much fun singing, dancing and making a complete fool of ourselves. There were some videos but those are for private viewing.




Dinner was Japanese food again Tonkatsu at Tonkichi, this time with the hubz.




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As promised, Part 2 did not take that long right? Part 3 would conclude with all the Christmas gatherings from new year's eve all the way till February. Till then...


22 comments:

  1. Looks like you had a wonderful time celebrating Christmas! I love that you got to celebrate with so many different people on different days. How fun! Lots of delicious looking food too. Mia is a cutie! :)
    ~Jess

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    1. Thank you, Jess. Christmas is the season when I would meet up with the various groups of good frenz and I really love all the warmth of friendship over great food.

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  2. I see you had a lovely time celebrating Christmas and getting together with your friends. It is so cool you guys all meet up at someone's and spend some quality time together.

    You know I love food, right? So, I really enjoyed seeing all these dishes. It seems you and husband picked out a nice place to eat...sorry to hear that you weren't that happy with the steak but at least he was:)...and sorry to hear about the mosquitoes! You make me kind of happy it is cold here now so that I don't have to deal with them. You know how they say that mosquitoes prefer a certain blood flavour..well, I must have it because they torture me in Summer!

    Tiramisu.....mmmmmmmmmmm...I think I'll make myself a cup of coffee now:) and pretend it is tiramisu because my husban and I already ate the cake I made for today. I also made a salad with salmon and potatoes and onions...I'm not sure is that a thing, but I had some left over salmon so I tried it and it was awesome. Have you ever tried it?

    Kids grow up so fast, don't they! So sweet that baby girl is so attacted to you. I'm always suprised at how much children of some of my friends get attached to me, considering they don't see me that often.

    You never saw an episode of Star Wars before!!! how is that possible?:) I didn't see the new one and I'm in no hurry. Hubbie and I don't go to cinema often, we are so picky nowadays....and we both don't like films that last too long ( I mean who has 3 hours for a film?) so we yet have to see a film in cinema this year.

    When it comes to cinemas, I actually love old ones...In Split, most cinemas have closed and been replaced with global ones, like Cinestar etc...but there is still our oldest cinema called Karaman that can't be closed because it is protected by law. It was opened in 1907! Pretty cool, ha?

    I love your all black outfit. You look great! I'm not sure I would like to own a Chanel bag, I think I would be afraid someone would steal it from me or something....but it is a very classic and beautiful bag.

    I like your husband's outfit, especially when he rolled up his pants...very stylish.

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    1. I always love reading what you have to say, Ivana. I learn lots of cultural stuff from you! I would love to visit that oldest cinema that opened in 1907. I could imagine it being really very elegant back then when it was a luxury to see a movie. It's very small here in Singapore and many people's pastime is to catch a movie at the cinema. I imagine myself not going to the cinema often if I were to live in a bigger city/country.

      I do think that some children are naturally attracted to some people. I'm sure you are one of those kids magnet too! Over the years, I have friends' and relatives kids being very sticky towards me but I also have certain kids who just do not like me as much, not in a dislike manner but well... just not being sticky.

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    2. well, to be honest Karaman doesn't look very impressive nowadays because compared to other cinemas it looks so tiny and well even kind of shabby. However, it must have been quite a luxury back in the day when just being able to see a movie must have been an exciting experience. Lately, my mind sort of closes when I see a film and I do regret it...there are still good films out there, but it is like I don't have the concentration. Maybe it is just a phase....or maybe my eyes just need a rest. We all spend an awful amount of time staring at our laptops, iphones, smartphones etc... maybe that is that.

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  3. Jo, I love all your pictures, you get some really great shots... by the way I need to learn how to use the filter so my pictures turn out as nice as yours... you look awesome. I just get lucky sometimes and find people who are good at taking a picture of me and get me at the right angle... lol

    I am glad to see you back... I hurt my leg when I was walking one day in mid November, it just started hurting out of the blue... I started seeing my physio therapist and come to find out it was my sciatic nerve in my back, she said it was probably hurting long before that day but that I might have been ignoring it... She had helped me a great deal. Now I can walk but the weather is not cooperating yet... I was out of control with my food and not being able to exercise. Finally, I have a goal now and I am on the path of being healthy again... I can't wait for good weather to walk a lot and hopefully purchase a bike to use as well.

    I hope you are doing well, I have been thinking of you... life has been crazy busy with my year end at work, I work in payroll... it is a stressful time of the year. Just a few more weeks and then it will calm down a little. xox

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    1. Hi Launna, I seldom whip out my camera now so all photos are taken by my iPhone 6 or friends' phone. I feel that when blown up on laptop, the quality isn't as good but pretty good quality from a phone. I usually only use Instagram filters or meitu pic app filters for selfies and wefies. You could try dl meitupic as it is now in English and really easy to use.

      Do you know what caused the problem in back's sciatic nerve? Could that be cured in any way? I'm glad that physio is doing you good! I bet you would be determined to walk more during the warmer days. My organization's medic officer diagnosed my recent knee injury as suspected ACL tear but the earliest date for appointment with the orthopaedic is only in the 2nd week of April. I hope my continual acupuncture would help in the meantime coz I really miss exercising.

      I hope that these few weeks pass quickly so you could have a breather from work!

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  4. Haha Poo Pourri!! We've never heard of it before but it's a genius idea!! We may need to hunt some down.

    M + K
    Bloglovin

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    1. You have to try Poo Pourri. You would be amazed! I mean I haven't tried it but hearing the amazing review from so many is convincing enough.

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  5. You are both so gorgeous together!!! I am in love with your outfit as well. I love your vintage Chanel bag too! Oh anyway,
    The food looks so tempting!! Ahhhh~~~ wish I was there to taste. LOL
    www.tomntins.com

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    1. Thank you for your sweet comment, Christin. xo

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  6. Hehehe I am much the same as you Jo. I am a lazy blogger when it comes to stuff like that. I've started listing products more but it's purely for affiliate reasons (God that sounds bad doesn't it, and it's not something I'd whole heartily admit to just anyone but you, I feel like you'd get it or not care less). When it comes to Instagram I don't choose food that looks photogenic either. Most of the times I have no idea how they'll even be presented. But I hate to admit it that at times, I do judge a place on it's Instagram worthiness and weather or not I can get a nice photo. But I suppose we all do that anyway, regardless of Instagram we go to places that appeal to the senses.

    Sxx
    www.daringcoco.com

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    1. Hehehe... I know what you mean, Sonia. But oh no... now that whatever you've said is open here on my blog. =X
      I do judge a place base on its instagram worthiness too. Are we so similar or what?

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  7. i love the holidays a lot. i'm glad you enjoyed yours Jo :)


    xoxo, rae
    http://www.raellarina.net/

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  8. I spy A LOT of yummy food, monopoly, and a Chanel bag. I mean, besides the family time, it's already looking pretty good! ;)

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  9. Firstly, how do you have so much good food and stay so slim? The food you post, both Chinese and western looks sooooo good.

    Your Chanel looks wonderful. So stylish! KH looks great as well, the tie straightening picture is very handsome! I never noticed that you had a tinge of pink in your hair. Is that new or was it red before?

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